Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128102
8 o Continued from page 2 M eanwhile, officials w ith the Part s Canada Sup erbi ke C hampion ship are planning significant rules changes for the headline class starting with the 2003 sea so n. The major manufacturers tak ing part in t he series hav e ag ree d to t he t ime frame and a committee will soon begin reviewing ru les packages, Rest rict io ns aimed at c utti ng costs fo r riders a nd teams are the focus of the adjustments, according to series organizer Colin Fraser . "The costs of running a competitive S uperb ik e are growing at a remarkable rat e e ve ry year, - Fraser explained . - While we ha ve enjoyed seeing the growth in professionalism and corporate support for t he nation al series in the past few years, we don't want to excl ude talented racers from our championship sim ply because the y ca n't afford to field a com petiti ve moto rcycle. - Wh ile mot o rcyc les i n the In t e rn at io na l Motorcycle S u p e r s how O p en S p o rt Bike and Yos himura 600 Sp o rt Bike support classes face horsep ower and weight restric tions, and must run on DO T-app roved street tires, the Superbike feature class is essentially w ide open to modifications and co mpetitors are allowed to use non grooved, slick racing tires . There is a weight limit of 350 pounds for motorcycles in the Superbike class , leam abo ut the Rapid Response Cen ter, mot o rcycl ist s wi ll have a greate r voice in shaping the po licies and laws that affect us. - The AMA Rapid Re spo nse Center can be reached by goi ng to the AMA website at www.AMADirec t link.com. t hen clicking on the A MA Rapid Re sp o nse Center button . o o o o o Parts Canada Superbike officials have confirmed t he th ird round of the 2001 season for t he Namao A irpo rt circuit in Edmon ton , A lberta, Canada, Ju ne 15 -17. A lt houg h t he date appeared on the series schedu le t hat was released late last year, it rema ined tentative until Ap ril 6. T he N a m ao A irp ort fac ility is owned by t he Canadian Armed Forces, and t he military body has first right of refusa l for its use o utside of a two-mo nth period. "We are very pleased to confirm the Edmonton date on our 20 0 1 Parts Ca nada Superbike schedule, - said Col in Fraser, president of series o rganizer Professiona l M o to rspo rt Prod uctio ns . "An addi tional race in western Canada can only help raise the profile of the champio nsh ip across t he country. - The Part s Canada Superbike Championship opens at Shanno nville Motorsport Park, near Belleville, Ontario, May 18-20 . o o o o o o o o 8 o By A LAN CATHCART. n o CJ o • • Who Gets To Buy-mota? At Bimota's bankruptcy hearing, postponed for six weeks until March 5 in order to allow the rival American and French investor groups which had tabled bids for the specialist Italian manufacturer to increase their offers in order to meet the Ut.l1.5 bill ion (about $4 million) valuation placed on it under Italian law by the Rirnini-besed bankruptcy judge, the company founded in 1973 by Giuseppe Morri and Massimo Tamburini was formally wound up. and put into receivership, However, this is only the start of the financia l endgame, believes U.S. Bimota importer Bob Smith, the man behind the American bid to rescue the company. "What we've seen so far have just been preliminary skirmishes • now the batt le if about to begin, for real." Smith says, "We bid Ut. $7.5 billion ($3.5 million U,S.) for the cornpany, which is the most optimistic figure we could place on it as a complete entity, and invited the previous owners Aureli and Miroglio to make up the shortfall in the court's valuation, which they decl ined to do. What happens now is a Dutch auction, whereby people who have an interest in acquiring Bimota, but no longer with the baggage of the old company in terms of warranty claims and suchlike, will bid to take it over, At this stage, the liquidator is no longer required to accept the biggest offer for the company, only the 'best' offer . and that will surely come from someone like ourselves prepared to buy the entire operation, including the intellectual 8 ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Rick Hillhouse, 46 , los t his five-mo nth batt le with cancer o n Ap ril 7. Hillhouse was the founding owner of Ardmore Kawasaki in A rdmore, Oklahoma, and he also promoted races for the Texas Cross Country Racing A ssociatio n ITCCRAl as well as raci ng as an expert in both the Oklahoma Cross Country and Texas Cross Cou ntry series . Vallejo Speedway2, which is located 10 miles east of t he Sears Point Raceway at the So lano Co unty Fairg ro unds , will host a night of flat-track motorcycle racing on Saturday, April 28, on its onesixth -mile clay oval. It wi ll be part of the first weekend of So nom afest , A MA Vintage Motorcycle Days W est, April 27-29 . "This is a once-a-year chance for fans to see flat -track racing of this magn itude in the area," sa id Steve Hazeiton , owne r and promote r of Va llejo Speedway2 . "These bikes are like a ro lling museum. I know racing fans are going to like t he show that we pu t on during S o n o mafest." More than 50 riders from the AHRMA are expected to participate in the event, w hich w ill feature 12 classes . Classic motorcycles from 1930·74 will be used , including Triumph , Ind ian and Harley- Davidson. You'll also see a number of Japa nese and European brands. rights to the Bimota name, rather than see it sold off piecemeal. Of course, we hope that will be us - but we kn ow we have some stiff competitio n from various people who have laid low till now, waiting for this moment." The rollcall of potentia l Bimota buyers known to be interested in acquiring this prestigious modem-day trophy marque, is an illu str ious one, and includes Aprllia, Ducat i. t he immine nt MV Agusta/Piaggio combine, Suomi helmets, former German importer Dieter Koenem ann, and Bimota's current Japanese importer Yamaha Auto Center (no relation!), whose ;350 sites throughout Japan mark it as one of the countryls largest car and bike outlets. There are also persistent rumors that one of the Big Four Japanese manufactu rers, presumably Suzuki or Yamaha • both of whom supp ly engines to Bimota - is interested in acquiring the compa ny, in order to give its dealers around the world the opportunity to display and market a prestigious high end niche product using their engines. which will attact customers for their own models to the dealership floor. "I do believe Bimota will be sold off as a complete entity, rather than broken up," says Smith, "And of course I hope we get it, because I think we cou ld do a good job with it, and have fun at the same time. But there are some awfully big players in mo torcycle terms sniffing around Bimota now it's out in the open - for sure the game is on to acquire it and start tuming it around," One key element in the equation is apparently the valuatio n placed by the court on the 118 fuel-injected Vdue 500cc two- strokes currently sitti ng in a Forli warehouse, alongside 24 carbureted Trofeo versions, and enough assembled parts to build another 250 complete bikes. That's not taking into account the 50 or so VDue customer bikes held by Yamaha Auto Center in Japan. Figuring the net worth of these twostrokes is very difficult," says Smith. "You might be able to ( ] ] ] ] I:Yl:lenews.l:om ] ] ] ]1 02 ] MAY 2 , 2001 • cue ce-'fD,'-5I::')(&s-lii ve"'Pi!u-Pe,,"':View cDwerage of the 5 finaid I e n e vv s T he 24t h Annua l CRC Dunestown Series w ill k ickoff o n Apri l 2 9 at Edwards Air Force Base in Ro samo nd, Ca lifomia , before moving to Los Angeles Cou nty Raceway in Palmdale, Califo mia, o n May 6 . Fo r more information, call 661 / 272 -8889 . Keith Code will be hosting its Califor- nia Superbike School For Women Only at Virginia Inte rnat io nal Racew ay in D anville, Virginia , May 16 . Fo r more information, call C hristi e Co mmu nications at 8 05/ 9 69-374 4 (christiecomm@thegrid.netl or C alifo rn ia S u pe r b ik e School at 8 18/841- 7661 (www.superbikeschool.coml. eN Bimota's future rema ins uncertain as ever. The Italian manufacturer has been placed i nt o receivership, with several entities looking - including t he m a r q u e's U.S. importer - attempting to snap it up. ) :fa cast your vote, fog on to http://www.cycl en ews.com. reader poll question of the week Grey Wolf Off-Road Apparel , the clothing company started by the late Joe Parkhurst. is liquidating the co mpany and its rema ining stock. The relaxed-fit clothing line p roduced pa nts in s izes 3 6 through 48 and jerseys up to size XXXL. D eale rs and/or individ uals interested in purchas ing all or part of t he remaining stock can contact M arc e l Fo rt ney at 805 / 649- 2139 . The entire p rod uct line can be viewed at greywolfgear.com. sell them to collectors for $5000 each on a no -liability basis, o r else you co uld al so say they have a negative va lue . because they're eating up storage costs. But I j ust hope that this crucial final stage doesn't drag on too long, beca use every day that Bimota's future remains uncertain, it impacts on the way the company is viewed. We know there are a lot of Bimota enthusiasts out there: I ask them j ust to keep the faith and be sure the company will survive - just in whose hands is another matter." ] ] Fo r more info rma tion , call 7 07/ 5 5 43140,